According to think tank Global Futures, 12.5% of NHS England's staff are from overseas. That number rises to 45% in certain specialities including paediatric cardiologists and neurosurgeons.

The current annual cap on these visas has also led to over 1,000 IT specialists and engineers being denied visas.

The proposed change would only apply to doctors and nurses - but could free up thousands of visas for workers in other industries like IT and teaching, even if the 20,700 total didn't change.

Current government policy aims to reduce net migration to below 100,000.

Home secretary Sajid Javid hinted at the changes earlier this month, telling the BBC 's Andrew Marr that he "saw the problem" with the cap and would take a "fresh look" at it.

His latest move could indicate a new direction for immigration policy post-Brexit, the BBC's political correspondent Ben Wright said.

It could also encourage others to argue for the net migration target - which has never been met - to be abandoned, he said.

"Perhaps this is a sign that Sajid Javid is willing to take a bolder and more flexible approach to immigration, and deliver the kind of system that Britain will need after we leave the EU," said Sunder Katwala, director of the immigration think-tank British Future.

"It never made sense to turn away doctors and nurses that the NHS needs."